BREWER – A racing rookie and veteran each cruised to first-place finishes Saturday in the eighth Eastern Maine Soap Box Derby.

Nine-year-old Nicholas Thomas of Hermon captured first in the stock division in his first Eastern Maine Soap Box Derby while 13-year-old Erik Vroom of Bangor took first in the super stock in his fifth derby.

The two champs qualified for the national race, the All-American Soap Box Derby, July 27 in Akron, Ohio.

Thomas and Vroom each won six races and competed in 12 heats to win their titles. Each race is made up of two heats down a track of about 1,000 feet on State Street. The total time of the two heats determines the winner and the wheels on each soap box are swapped after the first heat to ensure fairness.

Thomas, driving car 55, edged Amber Estes of Hermon in car 19 by .028 of a second.

Vroom, in car 108, beat Craig Stevens of Glenburn in car 151 by .163.

Thomas and Vroom, while different in race experience, did share the common characteristic of receiving lots of family involvement. Thomas’ older brother, Ryan, 13, also competed in the stock division and recorded a fifth-place finish.

Nicholas Thomas, the son of Rick and Marlene Thomas, said his family helped get him involved in racing.

“My brother’s been doing it for a long time and my dad thought I might like it, too,” Thomas said.

Also finishing in the top eight for stock were Jeremy Vroom (Erik’s brother) of Bangor in third, Tyler Chamberlain of Hermon in fourth, Ryan Thomas in fifth, Andrew Crosby of Hermon in sixth, Jason McBurnie of Holden in seventh and Jesse Hersom of Lee in eighth.

Vroom has two brothers also involved in derby racing as 16-year-old Justin won the Eastern Maine stock title in 1997 and will be competing in the masters division in next week’s Midcoast race in Camden. Meanwhile, 9-year-old brother Jeremy showed off the family’s racing skill, also on Saturday, when he finished third in the stock division. Justin helped his youngest brother in the pit crew.

The three children’s parents are David and Vicki Vroom who were busy Saturday not only watching their children but also as volunteers as David was the race director and Vicki helped compile race results.

Also finishing in the top eight for super stock were Tyler Secord of Bangor in third, Steve Carignan of Steuben in fourth, Ben Delano of Lincoln in fifth, Alayna Farley of Brewer in sixth, Mathias Bickmore of Newburgh in seventh and Jason Goodin of Holden in eighth.

The races started at 9 a.m. with a field of 70 stock competitors and 50 in the super stock vying for the final eight in the Race of Champions, which concluded at around 5 p.m.

Erik Vroom said his experience in rally racing helped him Saturday and he wasn’t nervous in his final heats.

“I didn’t really have a lot of pressure because I race rallies and I’ve gotten used to it,” he said.

The rally racing has helped maintain Vroom’s interest in the soap box derby, he said.

“Rally racing is a lot of fun. I’ve gotten good places. Every weekend you go around the state of Maine and race for a weekend. It’s more laid back than the local races,” Vroom said.

During the long day of racing, Thomas said he stayed busy hanging out with his friends and then turned to his dad to help get focused on racing and a winning strategy.

“My dad came up with most of the strategies. I was to go to the cones and stay close [to them] when I pulled off the ramp,” Thomas said.